adminthe change we want to see happen in the world.”
US President Barrack Obama in his famous citation edifies this statement: “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
The need for responsible business conduct and ethical workplace behaviour in the country continues to grow. Its significance has become more and more important as scandals continue to hog the limelight in both public and private institutions.
The recent abuse with abandon of depositors’ funds at Renaissance Merchant Bank by its shareholders and senior executives is a case in point.
This leaves many people in the country baffled and wondering how much wrongdoing needs to be committed before the powers-that-be can take stern measures against those abusing public trust and violating their fiduciary duties.
The country needs to shift from words about ethics and move to real action about ethics.
Time has now come for the ethical to come out of their shells and lead processes in cultivating responsible business conduct in their organisations.
Yes, this is the moment to take off the gloves, call a spade a spade, and fight the scourge without fear or favour.
Ethical people should know that they have a moral obligation to lead the way in transforming their organisations and cultivating ethical behaviour that should take our economy and country forward.
A total onslaught on unethical behaviour wherever it rears its ugly head will re-engineer business conduct unmasking dishonesty, deceit, greed and many such vices endemic in the economy.
Through a scorched-earth line of attack, the ethics effort will devour the bane destroying it and making sure the new ethics offshoots will find a clear ground to blossom.
When you have those at the top being at the centre of decimating their organisations like a pullet eating its own eggs, it becomes imperative to turn to the ethical few within those organisations and implore them to heroically impose their moral standing upon their colleagues. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that,” said Martin Luther King Jnr.
Ethical people in boardrooms, among senior management, and in workplace trenches should know that the time to remain quiet allowing the unethical to lead the way is over.
Again Martin Luther King Jnr exudes inspiration when he warns: “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it.”
Ethical leaders should be inspired to speak out against corruption and all forms of unethical behaviours, and be the catalysts for change.
They should redeem themselves from the delusion that they are powerless in the face of shameless acts of the unethical.
The ethical should shade off the spectre of naivety and submission to intimidation and silencing by the unethical as if they are the ones on the wrong.
The nation demands inspired ethical leadership to lead the way in unravelling corporate processes flashing out all forms of unethical behaviours present and in turn instilling a feeling of shame in those bent on plundering their organisations through greed.
Ethical people should rise above the fear that bars them from reporting misconduct by colleagues and those in senior positions.
They should overcome timidity and assert themselves as the leading edge for sustainable organisational change. Fear is an evil responsible people should never allow controlling their minds and souls.
Nelson Mandela summed it up when he said: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
And according to Andre Gide: “There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them.”
Introducing new ideas and new organisational processes always demands brave and strong leadership. It requires ethical leadership that is fearless, with the ability to withstand criticism and demonisation by those against change.
Remember change means fighting against those who have entrenched themselves in the status quo and don’t want to let go of the benefits they have accumulated over time.
Like a vicious bulldog, they are bound to guard ferociously their feeding trough and will need those who are equal to the task to subdue them.
And such change is made possible when led by people who know exactly what needs to be changed. The ethical in organisations should provide the purposeful leadership required to lead organisations to secure the desired transformation.
Ethical leaders are trusted to have insightful and discerning capabilities that inspire employees and grow their organisations. Ethical leaders can use the moral trust bestowed upon them by stakeholders to embed responsible business conduct at all levels in the organisation that should resonate with the whole economy.
They are the revered ones, the chosen few to effect change through strong, ethics embedded strategies, in the process rekindling employee commitment towards organisational success, and the whole nation towards national economic development.
Organisational change anchored on insightful ethical footing will shake the foundations of the social and economic systems in the country.
No amount of force will be too strong to withstand this sacrosanct form of change, and any such resisting force is sure to be wiped out.
An ethics tsunami that takes with it all societal misdemeanours, demolishing even the most defiant pillars is possible through committed ethical leadership.
The “goliaths” of corporate malfeasance will fall, and corporate vultures including the most fearsome predators will be vanquished.
They will be driven to the mountains, and with so much jubilation, throwing fists into the air, the whole nation will rise up to celebrate their demise as a new season of new ethical systems begins to dictate operations in our firms, our organisations, and in the economy at large.
These are the new arrangements that will see organisational performance improving, productivity increasing, and the economy growing for the betterment of all. So be the first ethical leader inspired to change your organisation.
- Bradwell Mhonderwa is the managing consultant of Business Ethics Centre, a corporate governance and business ethics management firm. Phone 04-293 2948, 0712 420 090, 0772 913 875, or email [email protected]
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